Court ruling curtails Metro’s power to veto municipalities’ decisions
Metro Vancouver fears its attempts to manage growth across the region will be undermined after a B. C. Supreme Court judge ruled it does not have the power to veto decisions within local municipal boundaries.
The ruling, which centres on a massive “urban- style” subdivision on 13 hectares of agricultural land in Langley Township, knocks most of the teeth out of the regional growth strategy adopted in 2011.
The strategy, which replaced the former Liveable Region Strategy, aims to curb urban sprawl and protect agricultural land for local food production as Metro Vancouver prepares to welcome another million more people by 2040, bringing the population to 3.4 million.
The plan had been unanimously endorsed by municipalities, but regional district chairman Greg Moore warns there is no point in having an agreement if it can’t be enforced.
“That’s our fear, especially after hearing some of the language the judge used about the authority of a regional district in land use decisions in a municipality,” said Moore, mayor of Port Coquitlam. “That’s a real big concern because we would argue that land use within a municipality of a certain scale does have regional significance.
“It could mean more traffic or transit use or a higher cost of service. Or it could mean displacing industrial use which puts more pressure on another municipality.”
The ruling could also set a precedent for other municipalities that hope to push residential developments on agricultural or industrial land outside designated town centres.
Under the regional growth strategy, municipalities are required to develop regional context statements that show how they plan to meet the goals and outcomes of the strategy, thus making it legally binding.
If they wish to make changes to those statements, they must go to the Metro Vancouver board for a twothirds majority vote.
Delta, for instance, is awaiting approval from Metro Vancouver for a public hearing on a massive development on 217 hectares of agricultural land in Tsawwassen, while Port Moody is expected to put forward changes to its Official Community Plan. But in her decision, Justice Neena Sharma ruled Metro Vancouver “does not have superiority over land use management within the boundaries of a municipality,” which means Metro may not have any control over what a municipality does anyway, Moore said.
Metro has not yet decided if it will appeal the decision.
The problem with Langley Township arose after that council approved rezoning of the 13 hectares of agricultural land around Trinity Western University without going to a Metro Vancouver vote.
Metro argued the plan was inconsistent with the regional growth strategy, because Langley Township had set a minimum of eight hectares per lot size in the university district, but was now looking to allow a 67- lot, single- family subdivision that would see homes as small as 2,800 square feet.
But Langley Township council maintained it had a legal right to rezone the property, which has been earmarked for development for more than two decades and was part of the livable region strategy adopted in 1996 — and not the regional growth strategy.
Mayor Jack Froese maintains that while there is a need for a regional strategy, it is ultimately up to the municipality to decide how to grow.
“It’s a delicate balance,” he said. “If something happens in Port Moody on its land use plan or in Coquitlam or New Westminster, I don’t have intimate knowledge of those communities.
“You have to rely on local councils to do what’s best for their municipalities. If ( residents) aren’t in agreement with council they have that choice to boot them out in the next election.”